Best MacBook 2024: Which MacBook should you buy?

The MacBook Air is the cheapest way to get a Mac laptop. Starting at $999/£999, there are five standard MacBook Air models to consider: one 13-inch model with an M2 chip, three 13-inch models with an M3 chip, and three 15-inch MacBook Airs with an M3 chip. As of October 28, 2024, all MacBook Air models have 16GB of unified memory, just like the MacBook Pro.

It’s easy to think that the cheapest Mac laptop will be the one that has the best value, but that’s not necessarily the case. The M2 MacBook Air (see our M2 MacBook Air review) is the cheapest Mac laptop you can buy right now, but for another $100/£100 you can get the newest machine with an M3 chip. Both models offer the same 8GB RAM as standard. With both models, you get Apple’s newest Air design and the 13.6-inch screen, 500 nits, and Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver color choices. One difference is in the storage: in the newer M3 MacBook Air, the 256GB SSD is made up of two 128GB NAND chips, rather than a single 256GB chip as in the M2 and older models. This means the storage in the M3 can be faster because the two drives can process data simultaneously.

There are several performance differences between the M3 Air and the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro. Besides the Pro having a faster CPU, the Pro’s chip has a 10-core GPU standard compared to 8-core GPU in the Air, but the lack of a fan in the MacBook Air may mean it slows down to avoid overheating when performing more strenuous tasks. The 14-inch MacBook Pro, on the other hand, has active cooling, so it doesn’t need to slow down to stop overheating in processor-intensive applications. It’s probably the key difference between these Mac laptops and the reason why the Pro is better suited to more demanding applications.

Another benefit of the 14-inch MacBook Pro over the Air is longer battery life. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 offers up to 22 hours compared to 18 hours for the 13-inch MacBook Air.

However, the MacBook Air is a good choice, especially now that the entry-level MacBook Pro costs $1,599/£1,599. For $999/£999, the M2 Air is a fantastic budget option with many of the same features as the M3 model. And for just $100/£100 more, the M3 models bring even more performance.

When Apple first introduced the 15-inch MacBook Air in July 2023 it answered a need for anyone who wanted a larger screen without having to pay hundreds more for a 14-inch MacBook Pro. The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air starts at $1,299/£1,299. The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,599/£1,599, which is still much more expensive than the Air. But even compared to a cheaper Pro, the 15-inch Air is still a fantastic option for buyers looking for a large-screen laptop for less. As of October 28, 2024, all MacBook Air models have 16GB of unified memory, just like the MacBook Pro.

If the choice is between the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, other than the bigger screen there are a few other differences to consider. Most notably, the larger model has better audio with a six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers. Also, the entry-level 13-inch M3 MacBook Air for $1,099/£1,099 offers an eight-core GPU, while the entry-level 15-inch Air, which is $200/£200 more at $1,299/£1,299, offers a 10-core GPU. To get the same GPU option in the 13-inch Air you’d need to pay an extra $100/£100. The price gap is so small that we think it’s worth getting the 15-inch model unless you really want a smaller screen.

Apple discontinued the 13-inch MacBook Pro and replaced it in the lineup with a base M-series version of the 14-inch MacBook Pro (you can’t get the base M-series chip in the 16-inch MacBook Pro). This move brings many benefits: the 14-inch MacBook’s HDR ProMotion display is significantly better than the 13-inch model’s was. It also offers twice the storage, HDMI, SDXC slot, better battery life, and a newer design. Mind you, the 14-inch model, while starting at the lower price of $1,599/£1,699 is quite a bit higher than the $1,299/£1,349 price that the 13-inch model sold for. 

The higher starting price for the M4 MacBook Pro also means the difference between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is wider than it was. Apple did sell two almost identically spec’d machines for a very similar price, but now the 14-inch MacBook Pro ($1,599/£1,599) costs an astonishing $600/£600 more than the entry-level 13-inch M2 MacBook Air ($999/£999) and $500/£500 more than the M3 MacBook Air ($1,099/£1,099). So if budget is what is important to you, save your money and buy a MacBook Air.

If the choice is between a 15-inch MacBook Air with 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD and 10-core GPU ($1,699/£1,699) and the 14-inch MacBook Pro with 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD and 10-core GPU ($1,599/£1,599), it looks like the MacBook Air could be the best option in terms of price, but the Air uses an older M3, while the Pro has the new M4 and better performance.

At the same time that it introduced the M4 14-inch MacBook Pro, Apple also introduced the M4 Pro and M4 Max. Both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro can be bought with various configurations of those two chips.

For those deciding between the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch model the best place to start is to compare like-for-like. The 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU M4 Pro with 24GB unified memory and 1TB SSD 14-inch MacBook Pro costs $2,399/£2,399 compared to the almost identically spec’d 16-inch model with 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU M4 Pro with 24GB unified memory and 512GB SSD for $2,499/£2,499. So you are paying $100/£100 more to get a larger screen, but also forfeiting half the SSD. If you want an equivalent 1TB SSD in the 16-inch that’s an extra $200/£200.

On the other hand, if you are considering spending more to get the M4 Pro rather than the M4 in a MacBook Pro, the price difference is much greater. The 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, and 512GB SSD costs $1,599/£1,699, while the 14-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro with 12-core CPU and 16-core GPU, 24GB unified memory, and 512GB SSD costs $400/£400 more at $1,999/£1,999. The jump from M4 to M4 Pro is an expensive one, but you are getting a lot for your money: more memory, more cores, essentially a more powerful machine in every way.

The entry-level 16-inch MacBook Pro essentially offers the same specs (14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 24GB memory) as the top-of-the-range 14-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pro for just £100/$100 more, $2,399/£2,499 vs $2,499/£2,599 which to be fair doesn’t seem like a bad deal given the larger screen and increased battery life.

The other big difference though is that the 14-inch MacBook in question comes with a 1TB SSD, while the 16-inch model only offers 512GB. If you really want that 1TB SSD in the 16-inch MacBook Pro it will cost you an extra £200/$200. So that’s really a difference of £300/$300 if you want the bigger screen and battery.

Back to the 14-inch model–what if you want an even more powerful machine? The M3 Max chip will offer that and more to you, but there is a high price to pay with the difference between the standard M4 Pro and M4 Max models being $800/£800.

If you want more memory then the M4 Max is the way to go though. This is not just because the M4 Max can support 36GB, 48GB, 64GB and 128GB unified memory, while the M4 Pro only offers 24GB or 48GB. However, the M4 Max with a 14-core CPU and 32-core GPU is available only with 36GB of unified memory and has no memory upgrade options. You have to get the M4 Max with a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and standard 48GB unified memory (an additional $300/£300) in order to upgrade to 64GB or 128GB of memory.

The story is much the same if you are considering the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The leap from M4 Pro to M4 Max if you look at the standard options is $600/£600, If you need the M4 Max Apple is making the upgrade worthwhile, but it’s still a high price to pay. The high-end 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pro comes with 48GB of RAM and has not RAM upgrades available. YOu have to upgrade to an M4 MAx to get more RAM.